Did You Mean It?
by melliemellie
Summary: Batman wasn't good with words. As his Greatest Enemy Joker should have known that by now.
1. Chapter 1

**Did You Mean It?**

Batman wasn't good with words. As his _Greatest Enemy_ , Joker should have known that by now.

* * *

"Did you mean it?"

Batman didn't answer. His head was still ringing from where it'd collided with concrete a few minutes ago. He might've deserved it possibly, maybe, definitely, but still...it hurt. A _lot_.

Purple and orange entered his field of vision and Batman span around, leg coming out to kick the crap out of whoever approached.

"Hey, hey!" Joker yelled, jumping back and only just managing to dodge the attack.

"Oh, it's you!" Batman said, one hand held up apologetically, as the other rubbed the back of his cowl. It really did hurt. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Joker said, relaxing now that the threat of a flying kick to the face had passed. "Just, y'know, warn a guy before you start-" he waved his hands in a way that vaguely resembled karate.

"Right," Batman nodded. "Sorry. It's just-" He wanted to take the cowl off so he could rub the sore spot on his head. Wasn't this thing supposed to be armored?! "Been a heck of a day," he finished.

Joker smiled, warm and whimsical. "Yeah." His hands came together, fingers lacing and thumbs twirling and his eyes turned left to where the sun was slowly sinking. "It certainly has."

The smile faltered and a frown started to form but Batman didn't see it because he was still too busy wishing the damn headache would go away! His fingers fiddled with the back of the cowl. If he could just…

"But you didn't answer my question, Batman."

Batman looked up and when he saw the look on Joker's face his stomach dropped. He knew _that_ look. Alfred, Dick and Barb had been giving him that look _all day_. It was the look people got when they wanted to discuss... _feelings_.

He had to suppress a shudder.

"Um…" Batman tried to stall. "What question?"

One of those bushy green eyebrows - way more expressive than they had any right to be! - twitched and Joker's thumbs started moving even faster, running circles around each other. He looked just as he had in the manor when he told Batman he hated him, looking at him with those eyes, a tentative smile on those lips, eyebrows _begging_ him to say it back.

Batman's head started throbbing even more. Yeah...he really needed to get-

"Did you _mean_ it?" Joker took a small step forward, the eyebrows all green and fluffy and earnest and Batman had to work very hard not to react with a step backwards.

"Uh, mean what?" He said instead, eyes darting left and right. If he didn't _look_ at those eyebrows, then maybe…

"What you said back there." Joker jerked his head in the direction of the city behind them. "Y'know...when we…"

"Crunched?"

The eyebrows and voice went flat. " _Held hands_."

Oh. Oh yeah. They'd done that, hadn't they? Batman's fingers twitched but he didn't say anything. He didn't really _know_ what to say. He was still getting used to this whole discussing feelings thing. And this wasn't the same as letting Robin call him Dad, or telling Barbara he was sorry. This was...

Joker let the moment pass and clasped his hands together again, this time behind his back. "Soooooo..?" he prompted, rocking on his heels.

"Sooooo…"

"About what you _said_." Joker was doing his best to be patient, Batman could tell. "Come on, don't make me do _all_ the work!"

Batman chewed the inside of his cheek and, for a moment, wished he'd packed a razor into his utility belt. Getting rid of those eyebrows would've made this a damn sight easier.

He tried stalling a second time. "Did I, um, mean it?"

"Yes!" Joker said, patience quickly wearing thin. "Did. You. Mean. It?"

The eyebrows curved hopefully and Batman really had to look away this time. Yeah, a razor would've been a good idea. Or maybe a waxing kit or-

There was a loud huff and Joker threw his hands into the air before turning his back. Batman chewed his cheek again and looked awkwardly at the ground. He was trying. He _really_ was. He wanted to make the cogs of his brain move in the right direction, give his mouth the right words to say. He knew exactly what Joker was talking about and what those damn eyebrows wanted...but…

Batman wasn't good with words – or feelings - and, as his _greatest enemy_ , Joker should have known that by now.

Joker span back around to face him and there was a hint of desperation in his face this time.

"Why is it so hard?!" he demanded, eyebrows now so high they almost disappeared into his hairline. "Why can't you just _say it_?!"

Batman's mouth opened but it didn't know what to do. What was it supposed to _do_?

Joker frowned again. "Unless, of course, you _didn't_ mean it and it was all just lip service to save this stupid city!"

Those big wide eyes glared at Batman in challenge and he panicked. Oh crap! He needed to say something, but what? What did he say? How did he say it? Dammit, where were Phyllis and her stupid television montages when he needed them?!

Joker yanked at his hair. "God! I _knew_ it was too good to be true! Even after _all of this_ you still haven't changed! You'll _never_ change and I was a massive schmuck for ever thinking you would!"

Joker turned and, with head held high, stalked away like the prima donna he was. For a minute, Batman was dumbstruck with that defensiveness that always took over in situations like these and a dozen different insults rushed to fall out of his mouth. What the Hell was the clown's problem? He'd already told Joker why he did what he did, wasn't that enough? He'd even used the word _us_! What more did he need?

But Batman knew why it wasn't enough. There was something Joker wanted to hear above all else. Three words that would finally - _finally_ \- let him know just how important he was. And, no matter what Batman did, whatever else he said, until those words came out, Joker wasn't going to be happy _or_ satisfied.

"Joker, wait!" He called.

"Not interested!" Joker called back with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Joker!" Batman called again but the clown refused to even acknowledge him.

Batman growled and finally caved. "I hate you!"

Joker skidded to a halt and Batman waited as, slowly - _ever_ so slowly - Joker's head turned to look over his shoulder and one of his eyebrows lifted. It wasn't quite ready to believe Batman and neither was the person it was attached to.

"Come again?" Joker said, his eyes narrowing.

"You heard me," Batman said and the headache he'd briefly forgotten about came back, its beat matching the sudden thudding of his pulse.

"I heard _something_ ," Joker said, his body following the direction of his head to face Batman again. "It sounded like words, but it could've easily been my ears playing tricks on me. I'll need to hear it again to be sure."

The pair stared at each other for a moment and Joker's brows dipped even further in the middle. He wasn't going to give in.

Batman took a deep breath and his mouth narrowed into a thin line. Fine. He could do this. He could _do_ this. "I said...I hate you."

Joker's eyes flashed with… _something_ and he took a step forwards, body leaning in. "Say it again?"

"What, why?"

"You kinda…" Joker shrugged. "Trailed off at the end, there. Didn't, um, quite catch the last bit."

Batman glared and was tempted to refuse. But that would just take them right back to where they'd been a minute ago and he didn't really have the energy to argue anymore. Besides, he'd already said it twice, so what was a third time? With a sigh, he said, "I hate you."

Joker shook his head, but his mouth was fighting back a smile. "Nope. Still not quite feeling it."

That smile should have annoyed Batman, but he found himself trying not to smile as well and, this time, it was _him_ moving forward. "I hate you, Joker."

Hearing his name almost made Joker gasp and his eyes grew wider. He swallowed and moved closer and stopped trying to hide his grin. "Sorry," he said. "Missed it again."

Feeling the way his stomach flipped at Joker's reaction and registering somewhere in his brain that he liked it, Batman continued. "I said...I _hate_ you, Joker."

Joker bit his bottom lip and his eyebrows curved upwards again as the space between the two of them continued to shrink. "I...I hate you too, Batman."

Turned out he liked Joker saying _his_ name, as well. Another step and there was no room left to move forwards anymore. "Well…I hate you more."

"I hate you the most," Joker said and the way his face crumpled with delight was almost too much to handle.

Batman looked down and saw that their hands were only inches apart. He was tempted to just grab those white hands but didn't have a clue what he'd do next, so kept his fingers still. Instead, he looked back up at those big shiny eyes that had started to water, that were being framed by those ridiculously bendy, fluffy eyebrows on a face being bathed in pinky purple sunlight.

Batman leaned forward, bringing their faces even closer together. Well, he'd come this far. "I hate you... _forever_."

Joker's mouth slowly fell open and his eyebrows almost disappeared entirely into that mop of wild green hair and, before Batman even knew what was coming, arms wrapped around his neck to pull him into a kiss.

Batman's entire body froze and his mind went blank as those lips pressed against his. Then, his brain caught up to what was happening and his arms lifted to wrap around Joker's waist. He pulled them even closer together, making their lips press harder and threw everything he couldn't quite put into words into the kiss. Joker let out a small whimper and his body melted against Batman as he finally got the one thing he'd wanted all along.

Kissing Joker wasn't anything like Batman had imagined. To be honest, he spent a lot of his time trying to _not_ imagine it, because…well…

But on the rare occasions he let his mind drift that way, he'd always thought it'd be made of the same angry, hateful stuff that fuelled their fights. He didn't expect _this_. This was soft and sweet and slow and…nice. _Very_ nice.

Their mouths moved to make the kiss even deeper and Batman forgot all about the ache in his head, as long skinny arms held on for dear life and hands gripped fistfuls of cape. He forgot about everything but the clown in his arms until he heard a voice shout, "Get a room!"

They broke apart and Batman would have looked over to glare at the heckler but Joker's face was too close, those eyes too bright and lipstick was smudged across a ridiculously wide grin that was just…

So, Batman decided whoever had shouted wasn't really important enough to waste attention on, not when the slowly dimming daylight was hitting the clown's face in _that_ way and Joker was practically beaming when Batman leaned in for another kiss.

It was just as slow and soft and nice as the last and, by the time they next came up for air, the sun was saying its last goodbyes and Batman decided that, if those pesky feelings could make him feel like _this_ , well, then maybe they weren't quite so bad, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

It was exactly two hours, thirty five minutes and seventeen seconds after their first kiss that Batman finally removed his armored face disguise and showed Joker who he really was.

And it was thirteen seconds after _that_ when Joker let out a long loud laugh and told him he's known _exactly_ who Batman is all along.

"No you didn't!" Bruce said, incredulously. There was no _way_...

"Yes I did," Joker replied smugly, a smile that refused to die for the past few hours still plastered on his face.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did _not_!"

Bruce refused to believe it and didn't realise how close they'd gotten again until his face was only inches away from Joker's. Bruce's cheeks - no longer hidden by the cowl - flushed and he saw those big eyes shine just a bit brighter at the sight.

"How?" Bruce eventually asked, if only to stop himself grabbing Joker's face and kissing him all over again.

"Pffft!" Joker scoffed. "Like it was difficult? Just look at that _chin_!" He gave Bruce's jaw a gentle nudge. "Hardly a job for Sherlock Holmes is it?"

He giggled. Bruce Wayne's roommate indeed.

Bruce rubbed a hand subconsciously across his jaw, trying not to think too hard about the tingles running across it. "Oh."

Joker giggled again. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Bruce had to look away when Joker winked at him. God, was it always going to be like this now?! Perhaps he should've put the cowl back on.

"Besides," Joker continued. "It'd be no fun with you all locked up. I mean, who's gonna stop me then?" His eyes widened and his mouth formed an excited O. "Ooh, but if I turned _myself_ in, then we could be cell mates! You could join my yoga class!"

Talk of yoga brought back memories, leading to images that Bruce really shouldn't have been having right then. Thankfully, a person far more adorable than they had any right to be chose that moment to quietly butt in.

"Um, Padre?" Robin said.

"Kid!" Bruce replied and tried not to let it show in his voice – change took time, y'know? - but he was beyond relieved to see him. "What is it?"

Robin giave a quick glance to Joker - who'd put a few feet of distance between himself and Bruce - and actually started to look a little sheepish. "Um, well…Miss Barbara was wondering…when, y'know…you'd be…um, finished?"

Ah. Ok. Yeah. They had been waiting a while, hadn't they? Probably given the pair of them far more time than they deserved, really. Which was…nice…of them?

"Right, yeah," Bruce said and, as if on cue, his stomach gave a quiet gurgle. It was well past dinner time and he could only imagine how the kid must've been feeling. "Gotcha."

He turned to Joker, who watched the exchange quietly with his hands behind his back and something funny happened to Bruce's insides. It was that weird kick-flip-twist thing that'd happened before, when sunset was making his face glow in just the right way…

Bruce had to swallow hard to push the lump back down his throat. Now what?

"So, I guess you'll be going now," Joker said helpfully and there was a hint of… _something_ in his tone and features that Bruce didn't like.

"Yeah," Bruce said, trying to will away the awkwardness. For crying out loud, they'd just kissed! Why were they suddenly acting like a couple of girls talking to their high school crushes? "Gotta go and, uh, un-Joker the manor."

Joker giggled and Bruce was glad to see the wide smile back on his face, but it didn't stay for long. "Ha, yeah, sorry about that! If it makes you feel any better, we didn't actually break anything. Although your Blu-ray collection probably isn't in alphabetical order anymore."

The fact that it didn't annoy Bruce anywhere near as much as it normally would said a lot about his current state of mind. Besides, it wasn't really much compared to having to take down that ridiculous fun fair.

And before he even realised it, Joker had taken a step forwards and Bruce tried to keep his heart rate under control.

"Well, I'll be seeing you around, _Batman_ ," he said conspiratorially and his smile and those eyebrows were just too much.

Bruce's grip on the cowl tightened and he resisted the urge to just grab the clown then and there and tell everyone else to go on ahead without him. But he couldn't really abandon the guys when they'd just started to become a…well…one of _those things_. That begins with F. He did, however, give Joker a smile back.

"You bet." Then he risked letting the smile slide into a smirk, leaning in as he said, "Looking forward to it."

Joker bit his bottom lip and looked positively ecstatic and that's when Bruce knew he had to walk away, even though it took a tremendous amount of willpower. Robin – as expected - gave the clown a quick wave, before following Bruce.

They were only a few paces along the street when Robin tugged at Bruce's cape and reached on tiptoes to whisper something into his ear. Something that made a lot of sense and really should have been thought of by Bruce a lot earlier. He studied Robin's face for a long minute, making sure the kid was sure about what he was asking and, when he saw nothing but pure earnestness in those unnaturally huge eyes, Bruce straightened and turned back to face where Joker once stood.

The clown was on his way to Harley and the gang when Bruce called his name and walked back over to him.

"Yes, Batman?" Joker asked and it was easy to see just how hard he was working to keep the optimism hidden.

Bruce took a deep breath and failed to calm his nerves. But he'd already done something a whole lot bigger than this, so it shouldn't have been too hard, should it? According to his thudding pulse, it was.

Bruce cleared his throat and looked determinedly at anything _but_ Joker's face. Damn eyebrows…

"Do, um…do you wanna…y'know…come…with us?"

For a moment, Joker's entire body went still and his face went blank and Bruce wondered if he somehow… _broke him_? But the clown quickly recovered and the most endearing expression that any single thing on the planet had ever achieved smothered his features and he let out a loud giggle. His eyes went wide and he quickly looked back at Harley, who – if possible – seemed equally delighted.

"Go ahead, Boo Boo," she said. "I can take care a these guys."

"Well, heck, why not?" Joker smiled, turning back to Bruce. "Got nothin' better to do!"

And that was how Bruce, Robin, Alfred, Barbara _and_ Joker ended up in Wayne Manor, tearing down all the countless contraptions Joker and his goons had built during their stay.

"Aww, do we have to?" Joker pouted, when they reached the flashing lights of _that_ staircase. "It's so pretty!"

Bruce chewed the inside of his cheek and decidedly _didn't_ admit his own hesitation about tearing the garish monstrosity down. Although Joker was beside him, he could still see the clown stood halfway up there, telling Bruce he hated him. His stomach flipped again.

"Batman doesn't _do_ pretty," Bruce finally said, walking forwards and reaching for the first brick.

"Ugh, _fine_!" Joker huffed, before joining him.

There were a few awkward silences to begin with, but they soon disappeared as Bruce and Joker got fully stuck in. Seeing as it was just the two of them, tearing down the staircase took a good while and Bruce knews exactly why the others hadn't offered to help. His head wasn't sure whether to thank or berate them.

At one point Joker stopped and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, before raising an eyebrow at Bruce. "Aren't you hot in all that?" he demanded, pointing to the armour.

"Yeah," Bruce admitted. "But I'm used to it."

Joker didn't have much to say to that, so went back to disassembling. It was almost two hours later when they get to the end and all that was left was a row of purple flashing bricks. Bruce moved forwards but stopped himself and waited. He _felt_ rather than _saw_ those fluffy green eyebrows lift, seeking an explanation.

"Just…" Bruce began, before taking a few steps backwards to get a better view. "Just give me a minute."

Joker shrugged and watched as Bruce went to the other end of the room and spent a few minutes just looking. If he was honest with himself, the purple didsn't actually look all that bad. In fact, it kinda looked… _good_. And, although he was glad to no longer have that staircase around – it really was just too much – Bruce couldn't quite find it within himself to eradicate all trace of it.

He let out a sigh. "Y'know what? Let's leave it at that."

Joker frowned, looked at the row of purple, then back at Bruce. An eyebrow lifted again. "Really?"

Bruce pursed his lips and gave his brain a last chance to change its mind. It didn't.

"Sure."

Joker chewed the inside of his cheek, probably to keep from smiling too hard – just how didn't his face ache with all that _smiling_? – before nodding slowly.

Bruce came forward again and stopped beside Joker and a long silence fell. It was heavy and awkward and it reminded Bruce of just how much further he had to go before he got any good at this. But at least he was trying and Joker and the others knew that. He hoped.

"Bruce,"

Oh.

 _Oh_.

That…well…that was new. If Joker saying _Batman_ made his insides squirm in all the right ways, then _this_ …

Bruce took a deep breath. He would've said something if his tongue didn't suddenly feel five times too big.

"What's gonna happen now?" Joker asked.

From the corner of his eye, Bruce could see the hopefulness in his gaze, those eyebrows disappearing into green hair again and Bruce was, as always, at a loss for words. That never used to bother him before - he'd just spew the first thing that came into his head and carry on regardless – but things were different now. He had things to lose. And this was quite possibly the biggest.

"I mean," Joker continued and it was always so weird hearing him sound so uncertain. He was the biggest, loudest, most self-assured character Bruce had ever met – besides himself, of course. "Now that we've confirmed we're _greatest enemies_ and all that…"

Joker paused and it forced Bruce to meet his gaze. They were in _serious_ territory again and Bruce knew exactly what he meant. They'd just overcome a massive hurdle in their – _say it, Bruce!_ – **relationship** and there were consequences that came with that. Things wouldn't go back to the way they were before, not completely, anyway. Sure, Joker would still cause trouble and Batman would still come running, but there would be that little something different and they'd need to figure out a way to make it all fit, otherwise…

"I…" Bruce licked his lips and cleared his throat again. For this, honesty was going to be the best policy. "I don't know."

Joker looked down at the ground and his hand started fiddling with the chain hanging from his belt.

 _Come on, Bruce, say something!_

"But…" he continued, truly winging it, now. "I guess…it'll be fun…uh…finding out?"

Joker's eyes slowly looked up and his head tilted. Oh, those eyebrows needed to _stop_! It's wasn't fair! Bruce didn't have anything like that to retaliate with.

"Won't it?" He finally finshed, very, _very_ lamely. He really didn't know what else to say and hoped Joker didn't expect anything more than that because Bruce was pretty much running on empty with his feelings. He'd had more this past day than the last few years combined, it seemed.

Joker started to laugh – a loud, proper laugh - and it was a sound that initially made Bruce panic. But one look at Joker eradicated any worry, especially when Joker took his face between his hands and his thumbs started moving backwards and forwards over his cheeks. It was enough to make Bruce forget who he was or what he was doing.

"You," Joker said between the laughter. "Are absolutely _terrible_ at this!"

Bruce agreed wholeheartedly, or he would have if he wasn't so distracted by what Joker was doing to his face and Bruce's hands moved of their own free will to rest on Joker's waist. For arch-nemeses, they really did seem to fit together like this very well.

"But," Joker went on. "Luckily for you, I'm willing to overlook this heinous flaw."

Their faces were close again and those lovely red lips were so very much within reach. Bruce wasn't sure how long he could keep away from them, especially when they started moving again.

"Of course, that doesn't mean you're not gonna have to work at it a bit. Well, _a lot_."

Bruce nodded, although Joker could have just asked to cut off his ears and he would've nodded anyway. Anything to get those lips from _there_ to _here_.

Joker's hands moved and fingers started carding through Bruce's hair. Now that _really_ wasn't fair.

"We've worked very hard, y'know," Joker said, his smile turning coy.

Bruce felt himself returning the grin. "We have."

"I'd say we've earned a break, wouldn't you?"

"Absolutely."

Joker bit his lip again and Bruce was done with waiting. He pulled Joker towards him and once again let a kiss do the talking. It started off slow and nice, just like before, but pretty soon became something more as Bruce wanted Joker to _know_ that, no matter how terrible he was at it, when he told Joker he hated him, he truly _meant it_.

Bruce's hands slid around that waist to hold Joker closer, as the fingers in his hair disappeared for arms to go around his neck and lipstick was soon everywhere. Somewhere in the back of Bruce's mind he told himself that it was all going to be okay. He may not have known what he was doing but it was definitely going to be fun figuring it all out. And Bruce _would_ get there, he knew it.

It was just going to take some time, y'know?


End file.
